Vasectomy & Virility: The Elephant in the Room

Vasectomy is the most effective and affordable method of family planning available. Surgically, it’s less complex and less expensive than a tubal ligation for a woman. Once the sterility is achieved, there’s no more paying for birth control, no more worries about unwanted pregnancy. Most men report increased sexual satisfaction as a result.

Those are the facts.

But facts aren’t what keep most men on the fence when it comes to vasectomy. We harbor secret worries about how the procedure will affect our virility – meaning our sex drive and ability to perform.

Less of A Man?

As men, we’ve been raised to think about ourselves in a specific way. The ultimate achievement is to be an alpha male, a man’s man.

Masculinity has moved so far beyond these outdated stereotypes and yet our sexual prowess remains a key indicator of rank. Virility and sex are intertwined.

Having a vasectomy changes nothing about our sex drive. Nothing about our ability to achieve erection. Nothing that inhibits performance.

But when doctors start talking about little snips to the scrotum, though we might be nodding on the outside, every internal instinct is screaming, “Run!” We may complain about using condoms, we may not want any more children, but we will protect our right to produce them at all costs.

What Vasectomy Does

Vasectomy in the simplest of terms blocks the transfer of sperm from the testicles to the penis. This is done by cutting the tubes (called vas deferens) that carry sperm to the urethra where it mixes with semen before ejaculation. At Gentle Procedures Clinic, that involves a small single cut that doesn’t even require stitches.

What A Vasectomy Doesn’t

Vasectomy has no impact at all on testosterone levels. Men who have a vasectomy still ejaculate the same way in the same amounts – the only difference is that there is no sperm in the semen. The size, shape of look of the penis, testicles and scrotum is unchanged.

The real result of vasectomy, once we get past our preconceived notions, is the ability to have and enjoy sex without any chance of an unwanted pregnancy.

Male Virility

Having a strong sex drive is an indicator of masculinity for most men.

It’s the elephant in the room when considering vasectomy – the thing none of us want to talk about.

So, what does affect our sex drive?

Certainly, the drive is more imperative during younger years. Studies show it starts to diminish in our late 20’s.

That is not to suggest any sexual dysfunction – just that the uncontrolled urgency of our adolescence begins to fade.

Testosterone levels also play a part in sustaining a healthy sex drive. Lower levels can reduce desire. Vasectomy has no impact at all on testosterone. Meanwhile stress, chronic illness, depression, endocrine disorders, even sleep apnea can and do diminish our libido.

But what sleep apnea doesn’t do is let some doctor take a knife to our most prized physical possession.

Though we’d like to believe that our sex drive begins in the groin, it actually functions from the cerebral cortex and the limbic system. That’s why we can become as sexually stimulated by images as we do during actual intercourse.

It’s almost instinctive to associate virility with sexual prowess. Or is it that the world has evolved faster than our instincts? Because these harken back to the days when procreation was a critical male function. Sperm was king and ejaculation had a singular purpose – to populate the planet. The more children we produced, the more impressive we were seen to be.

That’s certainly not the case today. Most men and women want control over the size of their families.

There are hundreds of articles from credible medical sources explaining that vasectomy has no effect on virility. None. Yet when men are offered this simple, permanent solution, some cover thier zippers with both hands and back out of the room.

Time to Man Up

There is nothing manly in expecting our wives or partners to go through a complicated tubal ligation because we refuse to face a simpler, less expensive procedure that doesn’t even require hospitalization.

Vasectomy is safe and minimally invasive. There is no change to the penis, erection, sexual drive or performance. We still ejaculate, the same way, the same amount, there’s just no sperm in the mix.

Vasectomy is a way to protect our wives and partners from unwanted pregnancies. They are the ones who must carry to term or terminate. We don’t have to put them through that decision.

Vasectomy is a one-time, affordable expense and once the sterilization process is complete, you can dispense with the cost and nuisance of birth control.

Last but not least, men who had vasectomies will consistently tell their doctors that sex is more enjoyable. They can be more spontaneous – and so can their partners – without the risk of an unwanted pregnancy hanging over their head.

Better sex, one-time cost, grateful wife or partner. What more could a man want?